The Mother Chautauqua

Chautauqua Institution

Adapted by permission from “Chautauqua: A Lasting Institution”, by Alfreda Locke Irwin, Historian Emeritus, Chautauqua Institution

The place was called Fair Point, New York, because of the way the beautiful land curved out into Chautauqua Lake.  At that spot, the water was deep enough to accommodate big lake steamers.  The fresh, clean air and fifty acres of partially cleared woodland seemed to Lewis Miller, renowned inventor and Methodist leader, a perfect place to hold the Sunday School Assembly he and John Vincent had envisioned.  When Vincent first saw the land in 1873, he knew that Miller’s instinct had been correct.  And so was born the Chautauqua Lake Sunday School Assembly.

After gaining approval for the project from their church’s Sunday School Union, Miller and Vincent divided up the organizational responsibilities.  Miller took charge of the practical construction matters, while Vincent planned the classes and general program.  As editor to the national Methodist Episcopal Sunday School publications, Vincent spread enthusiasm for the school throughout the country, winning the support of other Protestant leasers.  When the first Assembly was held on August 4 through 18, 1874, people from twenty-five states and foreign countries attended.  All the leading denominations were represented, thereby setting the tone for future gatherings.

What was so different about Chautauqua?   One of the main differences was the blending of instruction with recreation.  Fireworks were a regular feature of the early Assemblies, as were musicians who gave evening performances out on the lake.  Boating, fishing, and swimming were popular activities.

Another special feature was the inclusion for science, literature, history, and current events in the programs.   A three-day Scientific Congress was held there and courses for public school teachers and music and foreign language study were added.  John Vincent also introduced a four-year planned reading course, known as the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle (CLSC).   This is sometimes called the first book club in America, which still exists today. 

Even more experiments in education were tried.  The Chautauqua School of Theology offered correspondence courses to help ministers continue their education.  Soon after, Chautauqua was chartered by the State of New York as a university.  Academic courses were grouped under the College of Liberal Arts, while the School of Physical Education attracted large numbers of students who could study subjects as varied as anatomy and boxing.  Many of the teachers were outstanding, coming from their winter work at large universities to offer summer classes.

Growth of the Chautauqua community was rapid.  When President Ulysses S. Grant visited Chautauqua in 1875, the Assembly received national newspaper attention.  In 1876, the Assembly bought the original fifty acres, plus thirty more.  Thus began the rapid growth of both the community and its system of education.  In 1877, Fair Point qualified for its own post office and shortly after, its name was changed to Chautauqua, the name of the lake.  Chautauqua became Chautauqua Institution in 1902.  By then, it had dropped its role as a university, recognized that its usefulness lay in concentration on summer study as a stimulus for continuing education. 

Early on, friends of the Assembly established independent “chautauquas” for the people in their areas.  By this time the word “Chautauqua” had come to mean popular education and was used as a common as well as a proper noun.  The leaders of the Institution were glad to help these “Assembly Daughters,” and around 1900, other people organized “packages of culture,” which they called traveling chautauquas.  Many of the “daughters” did not survive, and the traveling chautauquas died out in the 1930’s.  These “daughter chautauquas,” also called independents, were different from the tent or circuit chautauquas.  Chautauqua leaders in New York assisted some of the “daughters” in planning their facilities, as well as their programs.  The “Mother” Chautauqua also extended the CLSC through the independents, thus creating a strong bond between them.  The circuit chautauquas did not have a sense of permanence like these independents.

The houses and buildings of Chautauqua were built in architectural styles of the Victorian age.  Today, these buildings are still there, but some modern buildings are tucked in among the old.  Altogether, there are six hundred forth private homes and fifty-one public buildings on the grounds, along with nineteen church properties, three privately owned scholarship houses, and thirty-eight one-room practice houses for music students. 

Many of the older buildings have been restored.  Two of these, the Athenaeum Hotel and the Amphitheater stand out.  The Athenaeum Hotel, the oldest public building in use today at Chautauqua, is made entirely of wood.  Built in 1881, it was one of the first buildings on the grounds to have electric lights.  The Amphitheater, which seats 6,000, is the outdoor program center.  There, Chautauqua’s own symphony orchestra plays, famous lecturers speak, and popular entertainers perform. 

Eleven miles of narrow, tree lined streets wind through the grounds, much as they have for most of this century.  Chautauqua began as a walking community, and pedestrians still have the right of way.  Limited use of cars preserves the clean air and the quiet atmosphere.

One of the more historic spots at the Chautauqua is the Palestine Park, which is located on the shore of the lake.  Designed in 1874 as a model of the Holy Land for students of Bible history, it was originally made of earth and stone.  Since then, it has been updated a number of times, but the grassy knolls, small cast iron replicas of Gallilee and Judea, and representation of Mount Hermon still attract history students and children, who find it a good place to play.

While individuals can enjoy Chautauqua, it is particularly suited to family vacations, as there is something for everyone.  The Children’s School welcomes children between the ages of 2 ½  and 6 ½ , while the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs offer day-camp activities.  Tennis and golf were introduced early at Chautauqua, and a roller-skating rink originally doubled as a school for bicycle riding.  In 1885, a new attraction was built near the skating rink-a roller coaster with five hundred feet of track.  For people of all ages, the Institution offers courses at the Arts and Crafts Quadrangle and supports a Women’s Club; the CLSC; the Bird, Tree and Garden Club; and fishing, golf and tennis facilities.

Why has the Chautauqua Institution continued to grow?  One of the main reasons is that Lewis Miller and John Vincent continued to have a strong influence for twenty-five years.  They chose good helpers and attracted many benefactors who contributed time and money to the Institution.  Their children also served the community for many years.  Above all, the Institution has continued to emphasize its primary goal of education for all.  That goal, combined with the beautiful grounds and a relaxed atmosphere, has mad the Chautauqua Institution a lasting success.

The Florida Chautauqua

An Independent “Daughter”

Chautauqua began with an Idea and our town began with an idea, both of which accidentally found a common ground.   An insert from “The Breeze,” the local newspaper, which is undated but based on information in the copy appears to be around 1922, is titled “WOMEN’S CLUB EDITION” and recaps the history of our town’s founding, the Chautauqua and other unique aspects of Walton County.  To quote the opening paragraphs:

“ DeFuniak Springs enjoys the distinction of a town built about an idea.  Hence, its early history and that of the Florida Chautauqua are one, and its action is but thought materialized.  Their common origin may be traced back to a summer night in 1881, when three members of a surveying party, seeking a route for the projected railroad across the State, lay down on a grassy slope surrounding the little lake, which has since been poetically described as ‘God’s crowning circle wrought with compass true’.   Under the magic of the time and place, the men fell to dreaming and each translated into speech the vision he found within him.

The first said: ‘We must build a town here; we will make it a famous winter resort to attract visitors from the North’; another said, ‘It is just the place for a great educational centre, let us found a splendid college!’  The third declared it the spot where his dream should be realized of a gathering place for the Scotch pioneers of Walton County, and where people from all parts of the country should meet and mingle for the betterment of political, social and moral relations, and for the fostering of cultural ideals.’

Had the mantle of the prophets fallen upon them? - or had they, under the spell of the hour, unconsciously ‘tuned in,’ each in his own key, to catch the vibrations from the unseen world about us, where ideals are born?

In any event, DeFuniak Springs and the Florida Chautauqua had for their beginning a crystal lake set in a grassy slope, amid the almost unbroken solitude of Walton County, a prospective railroad, and three men dreaming under the stars! While things were still in the formative period and because ‘Winds blow and waters roll strength to the brave’ whether we know Wordsworth’s lines or not, it came about that Mr. Banfill, while attending a Methodist-Episcopal Conference in Jacksonville, accidentally learned that Dr. A. H. Gillett of New York was in Florida for the purpose of finding a desirable location for a winter assembly.  He immediately sought out Dr. Gillet, and his invitation to ‘come and see’ was cordially accepted.

Arrangements were duly consummated for the first assembly, to be held February 10th to March 7th, 1885.  The announcement attracted instant attention, the very name ‘Chautauqua’ challenging inquiry, but the dictionary gave no clue, for ‘Chautauqua’ is the designation of an Idea; the crowning Idea of the Nineteenth Century.”

The Florida Legislature approved the incorporation of the Florida Chautauqua Association whose purpose was:  to establish and maintain an educational institution known as an assembly on the general plan of Chautauqua Assembly, in the State of New York, with courses of lectures and class instruction in art, science, philosophy, history, literature, theology and morals, and other branches of study.  The said Assembly to be located at Lake DeFuniak, Walton County, Florida, and to have annual or semi-annual sessions as may be deemed expedient. 

From 1885 to 1920, the Florida Chautauqua and the City of DeFuniak Springs grew and developed together, providing warmth and culture for the northerners while offering educational opportunities for Floridians. The annual 4-week February event was expanded to 9 weeks by 1906. Its season of lectures, classes, and performances was based on the model of the New York Assembly and became known as the "Winter Assembly in the Land of Summer." Its buildings included a hotel, amphitheater, college building, residences, and auditorium. A picket fence went all the way around the lake, encompassing not only the lake but also the Chautauqua Assembly and buildings located along the shores (see archive photos elsewhere on this site).

One of the first speakers at the first Florida Chautauqua was Wallace Bruce, a man destined to play a key role in the direction of the Assembly.  Born in Hillsdale, New York, in 1844, Bruce graduated from Yale in 1867 where he was editor of the Yale Literary Magazine.  Adopting literature and lecturing as his life work, he became a major speaker on the Chautauqua Circuit.  By 1888, Wallace Bruce was elected President of the Florida Chautauqua Association and built the first home on Lake DeFuniak named “Dream Cottage,” currently owned by Chuck and Carol Puckett.

Convinced of the growing future of the Florida Chautauqua, Wallace Bruce ordered the building of a new auditorium, the Hall of Brotherhood. 

The only remaining original Chautauqua building, this domed auditorium’s rooms offer expansive views of the lake. In fact, Lake DeFuniak serves as a background for the entire Assembly as participants make their way from class to class, strolling around the lake or feeding the ducks. Others tour the Victorian lakefront homes that had been built for some early Chautauqua residents. The original 1885 "Winter Chautauqua" is ever present in its contemporary version, both in the picturesque lakeside setting and in the varied religious, cultural and educational programs. 

References

Chautauqua Movement, John H Vincent, 1886

"John Heyl Vincent, A Biographical Sketch", Leon H Vincent, 1925

"Lewis Miller", A Biographical Essay, Elwood Hendrick, 1925

Three Taps of the Gavel: The Chautauqua Story, Alfreda Irwin, 1970

Chautauqua: An American Utopia, Jeffrey Simpson, 1999

Chautauqua Impressions: Architecture & Ambiance, Richard N Campen, 1984

A Year in Chautauqua, Laurie Watters, 2000 (photographic essay)